The surge in violence persisted on Friday with Israeli airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs and south Lebanon, as fierce fighting raged in southern villages between Hezbollah combatants and Israeli troops advancing deeper into Lebanese territory.
New evacuation warnings were issued by the Israeli army to residents of Hadath, Ghobeiri and Haret Hreik, Galerie Semaan and Bir el-Abed areas of the southern suburbs on Friday afternoon.
A wave of relentless raids followed shortly, causing massive fire and destruction, and razing several buildings to the ground.
The warnings caused panic in the nearby City Center shopping complex, which was evacuated immediately. Video rushes showed panic-stricken shoppers rushing out of the complex in a chaotic way.
At the same time, the Lebanese army blocked the Galerie Semaan Road, having identified an unexploded missile that had targeted a building in the area.
The Israeli army subsequently announced, via its Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee, that it had targeted Hezbollah command headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Amid the chaotic situation, an incident broke out in the adjacent and mainly-Christian inhabited Aïn el-Remmaneh neighorhood when Shiite youths from Chiyah entered the area and fired shots to intimidate the inhabitants. This act provoked the anger of Aïn el-Remmaneh’s residents who clashed with the armed intruders and expelled them, causing great tension in the area. Local officials immediately intervened and dispersed the crowd.